


The Aftermath of a Legend

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Klaus (2019), Klaus (movie)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Merry husbands, Post Movie, idk which fandom tags are going to stick so i'm just trying everything lol, oblivious idiots, taking care of someone while they're sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 03:44:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21501340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: Klaus and Jesper are both idiots who are totally oblivious to their own feelings, let alone each other's. But after working together and dancing around each other for years, the wind isn't going to rest until they're both happy.
Relationships: Jesper/klaus, Klaus/Jesper, Klaus/Jesper Johannson
Comments: 27
Kudos: 562





	The Aftermath of a Legend

**Author's Note:**

> I just loved this movie so much (except for the very end), I just had to write something for it

The first Christmas she considered ‘real’ was also her best Christmas ever. Of course she could remember the Christmases that had come before that, but it had never been the happy time of year that it seemed to be for everyone else.

Waking up one day to find several gifts piled under the tree was amazing, a couple for her and a couple for each of her sisters. And they were real, awesome toys, not just the usual useful but cheap items that they usually got. Not that she didn’t appreciate the fact that her father struggled to support the three girls as it was, but that had never stopped them from feeling disappointed when they couldn’t have the same magical holiday experience as everyone else. And it had been even worse for her because she was the oldest, so it was her responsibility to willing to give up a little bit so that her sisters could stay happy. 

The presents weren’t the only thing that had made the day magical, though the other part wasn’t one that she had ever shared with anyone. Even at eleven years old, she’d been old enough to understand that nobody would believe her anyways. Well, maybe her sisters would have, but they’d always gotten all the joy out of Christmas, so she’d wanted to keep just this one piece for herself.

Her big secret was that the eve before that very special Christmas, she had stayed up late to finish wrapping the gifts because her father had to work overnight and had all but begged her to help her sisters keep seeing the magic. She’d agreed, but in the end it was worth it.

She’d nearly fallen asleep, but then suddenly there was the sound of something rustling up above her. Which was particularly strange since it was a single-story house. She heard something in the chimney of all places, and rushed to see if an animal had fallen down. 

Instead of an animal, though, there was a skinny blonde guy wearing a postman’s uniform of all things. She’d stared at him with wide eyes, and he’d stared back at her before finally speaking. “Er, this is all just a dream,” he started slowly. “And there is definitely no one standing in your living room.” A moment later there was a loud thud as a canvas sack dropped down the fireplace as well, and it tipped over as it landed on the logs funny. When it fell over, several colorfully wrapped gifts tumbled out of it and onto the floor. The man sighed and hurried to shove the gifts back into the sack. “What are your thoughts on bribery?”

Maybe she should have been more concerned about a stranger breaking into her house, but she was tired, and she’d just put so much effort into making sure everything would be perfect for her little sisters, and she found that she was very open to the idea of taking a bribe. 

He gave her a present and then told her to go to bed, and when she woke up in the morning there were all those presents under the tree for all three girls, plus the notebooks and pens and other odds and ends that their father had gotten for them. There was also a plate of cookies, though each cookie was a different flavor and looked to be made in a different place. It was a glorious day, and it was one that she would never forget.

That amazing magical day for that one little girl, though, was just one of the many houses that Klaus and Jesper had gone to that year with their expanded operation. With how big they’d gotten, there wasn’t as much time to stay and see the looks of joy on the children’s faces, though they always stuck around in whatever neighborhood they hit last. 

Then they returned home to Smeerensburg and shared a long meal in celebration of the successful night before they both went to bed to sleep for a while. Jesper gave Klaus an awkward pat on the back before heading back to the post office, where tomorrow’s mail was already waiting. Surprisingly, once the town was no longer in the middle of a giant feud, there was more inter-town mail all throughout the year.

But the mail could wait, and Jesper flopped down onto his bed, snoring almost the moment his head hit the pillow.  
,,,

It had been their third successful year of delivering toys to towns beyond Smeerensburg, and he was relieved to find that it never got old, that feeling of knowing that he had made so many children’s days brighter. But as he wandered out to look at the sled, he couldn’t help thinking that there was something else about the tradition that he enjoyed even more than the altruism of it. He ran his hand over the two names carved onto the back of the sled, and couldn’t stop the grin that rose on his face. 

Even now, when Jesper was so busy with his job as postman, he never failed to show up on Christmas Eve, ready to help deliver toys. And it was a good thing, too, because Klaus knew he could never squeeze himself small enough to get into most of the houses that they went to. Of course he came by to visit all the time during the rest of the year as well (though he was no longer allowed to help with the toy making process after the incident-that-shall-not-be-named), but there was something special about making the deliveries together. The Saami helped in the workshop, but when they made the deliveries, it was just Klaus and Jesper, squeezed together in the sled, laughing and experiencing something unique, together.

Klaus sighed before going inside to get out of the brisk weather. He glanced over at the display with the wooden figures, and walked over to it. He picked up the one of his wife, and gave it a fond look. He still missed her fiercely, but after so many years, the hurt had been able to fade into something more manageable. Though it hadn’t been until Jesper stumbled into Klaus’ life that he had been able to open up about his past without feeling all the pain that came with it.

As he held the doll, a familiar gust of wind ran through the room, and Klaus watched with wide eyes. After the wind had led him to befriending Jesper, he had learned to listen to it, as strange as that probably would sound to anyone else. The wind blew up high enough to reach the wooden shelves, and knocked Jesper’s doll onto the floor.

Klaus frowned as he crouched down to pick it up, and he held both Jesper and his wife, one in each hand. Maybe it had just been a normal wind after all, because Klaus had no idea what this was supposed to mean. Then he heard the sound of excited voices approaching, and quickly shoved both dolls back onto the shelf so that he could go out and speak with his friends and congratulate them on aiding in another year of success.

He didn’t even realize as he left that he’d put both of the dolls onto the same shelf- the one with him on it.  
,,,

“Mr. Postman! Mr. Postman! Mr. Pos-” Jesper threw the top half of the post office door open to look down at whoever was bothering him so early in the morning. It was one of the many children of the town who was always running around and being a playful nuisance. 

He yawned, and reached up to scratch at his stomach as he looked at the kid curiously. “What do you want, Aiamee? It’s like two in the morning.”

“It’s past ten,” she told him with the sort of confident annoyance that only children could truly pull off. “I’m expecting a letter from my mama. She lives in a big city far away from here, but Papa said that now that I’m old enough to write, I can talk to her whenever I want to, so I sent her a letter and now she’s gotta send one back!” 

She looked so excited, and Jesper let out a tired sigh before he told her to wait there, and he went to dig through the bag of incoming mail that had been delivered yesterday. He started to get worried that there wasn’t going to be anything there, but then he spotted a letter with the girl’s name on it, and he pulled it out, waving it through the air with a dramatic flourish before bowing forward and handing over the letter. “I believe that this is for you, madam.”

Aiamee giggled as she took the letter, and she clutched it to her chest like she was afraid that someone would try and take it from her. “Thank you so much, Mr. Postman!” 

As she ran off, Jesper couldn’t help shouting after her, “I do have a name, you know!” But she was already too far gone to hear him, and he wasn’t really bothered anyways. He’d never admit it out loud, but he found it sort of nice when the townspeople called him Mr. Postman. It made him feel like he was really part of the community.

Since he was already up for the day, Jesper decided that he might as well get dressed and start sorting through the mail. Then he’d go visit Klaus so that they could have an early dinner together, and he’d have time to get back to the post office for some more work before closing up for the day. 

With a plan in mind, Jesper was ready to get started. He didn’t expect to finish getting dressed and then step into the office and see Klaus standing there. Klaus seemed so much larger than life in the tiny post office, surrounded by letters everywhere (and a couple of chickens that Jesper had never had the heart to get rid of). 

Jesper was surprised by the visit, but pleasantly so. He always enjoyed spending time with his friend. “Hey, happy Christmas!”

Klaus rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the fond smile on his face. “Christmas was three days ago.”

Jesper shrugged. “Well, the children are still celebrating, so it may as well still be Christmas. And Alva said that no one better dare to disturb her any earlier than New Year’s for their lessons. She’s scary, so I’ll take her word as resident holiday decider.”

Klaus let out a soft chuckle, and then shuffled a few steps closer to the counter that Jesper was leaning against. “Are you terribly busy today?”

The stacks of mail seemed to speak for themselves, but Jesper just grinned and shook his head. “I’ve always got time for you. Why, what did you have in mind?”

It was worth it to shirk off work for the day if it got him that kind of big grin in exchange. “I know that it is still snowy and cold, but I thought that perhaps we could go on a short walk. Together.”

Jesper grabbed his jacket from where it had been tossed over the counter the night before and pulled it on, and while he buttoned it up, Klaus grabbed the postman hat and gently placed it down on Jesper’s head. “Oh, right, I was probably supposed to answer you. Yes, I would like to go on a walk.” He reached out to link elbows with Klaus and pulled the other man out of the post office. It really was despicably cold out, just like usual, but Klaus seemed to naturally radiate enough heat to keep Jesper from shivering too much.

They went to just outside the bounds of the town, and strolled aimlessly. Klaus didn’t seem to have any specific destination in mind, which was fine by Jesper since he didn’t either. They chatted about how Christmas had gone for both of them at first, and then eventually ended up walking in comfortable silence. 

After a little while, Jesper pulled away from Klaus and darted forward to scoop up a particularly tempting clump of snow, and he lobbed it at Klaus. He couldn’t help laughing at the look on Klaus’ face, and then Klaus grabbed his own chunk of snow to fling. 

The two of them kept throwing snowballs at each other until they were both red in the face and panting for breath, and then Klaus announced that they should probably return to town. As they walked, Jesper wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. Maybe tossing around cold water while wearing just his thin uniform coat for protection hadn’t been the best idea.

He noticed Klaus pause, so he did as well, and looked up at his friend in confusion. Jesper watched as Klaus took off his jacket and draped it over him, and even though it was so long on him that it dragged on the ground, Jesper couldn’t help feeling very warm from the gesture, in more than just the physical sense. He pulled the coat tighter, and smiled up at Klaus, silently thanking him for the kind act. 

Just then there seemed to be a sudden gust of wind, and since Jesper wasn’t expecting it he was shoved forward, and he would have fallen right down into the snow if Klaus hadn’t quickly reached out to steady him. They both stayed frozen like that for a very long moment, and it felt like Klaus’ hands were so warm that they were burning right through the layers Jesper was wearing, but in a good way.

The moment stretched out forever, until Klaus finally pulled away, face slightly pink. “We should probably get back before you freeze to death,” he muttered, and they walked the rest of the way back to the town in silence. They got back to the post office, and Jesper started to pull off the jacket to give back to Klaus, but Klaus just shook his head. “Keep it. It looks… nice on you.” Then he got into his carriage and took off without another word, leaving Jesper feeling strangely bereft, though he didn’t know of what.  
,,,

Klaus sank down into his favorite chair. Could it really be a coincidence that the wind had pushed Jesper over like that? But why would the wind do that if it hadn’t been a coincidence? And for some reason, Klaus couldn’t get the image of Jesper wearing his jacket out of his mind. It was far too large on the postman and looked ridiculous, but the way Klaus’ heart seemed to beat extra hard made it seem as though it was less ridiculous than he thought it was. 

He reached up to press one hand against his face, and then turned his head to the side. As he did, he looked around the room at all the signs of Jesper’s presence that it contained. A discarded shirt that had been torn and never mended, a stack of bandages for when Jesper inevitably got a splinter just by looking at one of the toys in progress, a spare postman’s hat that had been given to Klaus as a joke, a stack of empty envelopes and blank paper on standby to write replies to the children, and other odds and ends that had been left behind at various points over the past couple of years. It made the whole place feel a lot more lived in than when it had just been dusty toys and an oppressive atmosphere. 

Even though the trip into town was a long one, Klaus decided he would go visit again in the morning. Then he wondered if that would be a bad idea, because Jesper did still need to do his work as the postman. Well, just because he went to visit didn’t mean he’d drag Jesper away from his work for an entire day. Maybe he could just stay in the post office and they could talk while Jesper worked. Or maybe Klaus could help with something. 

Content with a plan in place, Klaus changed into his nightclothes and went to sleep, and tried not to think of how strange it must be that he looked forward to seeing his friend so much.  
,,,

Jesper regretted the snowball fun, as much fun as it had been, because he woke up feeling like he was dying. His throat was scratchy and he was shivering all over and he couldn’t breath through his nose at all. It was not a pleasant way to start the day. 

Unfortunately, with the amount of mail lying around the office, Jesper couldn’t justify taking off a second day in a row (and boy was it still strange for him to look back on the days when he’d wanted anything other than to be a postman). 

Even with the front door left closed, it was still very drafty inside the post office, and after a moment of guiltily contemplating it, Jesper grabbed Klaus’ jacket and pulled it on. He was immediately engulfed in warmth and the scents he associated with Klaus- snow and wood shavings. 

Then he went back to work, trying not to sneeze or cough on any of the letters he handled. It was not fun at all, but it was his responsibility to get his job done, so there was no other choice than to just do it.  
,,,  
Klaus left his house while it was still dark out so that he would be able to get to the post office fairly early in the morning. He paused when he saw both halves of the front door were closed, and wondered if he’d showed up too early in the day. He did know that Jesper had a tendency to sleep in when he could, as he remembered a few different occasions when Jesper had fallen asleep at Klaus’ house and been very grumpy to be woken up in the morning.

But he heard noises inside that didn’t sound like chickens, so he gently pulled the door open. He saw Jesper shuffling around, practically drowning in Klaus’ coat. His face was red and his eyes were only half open. He tripped over a box of letters, and Klaus rushed forward to catch his friend. 

“Oh, hey, nice to see you,” Jesper wheezed out.

Klaus frowned as he pressed a hand to Jesper’s forehead. “You’re too hot.”

Jesper craned his neck to look up and give Klaus a dopey grin. “Why thank you.”

Klaus blinked a few times, then scooped up Jesper and moved into the back of the post office where Jesper’s house was. He set the man down on the bed and pulled the blankets up, and Jesper immediately curled up and snuggled down under the blankets and Klaus’ jacket. He looked- well. Klaus forced out a small chuckle. “You are working too hard, my friend. You’re allowed to rest when you’re ill.” 

He turned to leave, feeling disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to spend the day with Jesper afterall, but then he felt a tug on the back of his shirt, and he glanced back. Jesper had snaked out a single arm to grab Klaus’ shirt, and other than his arm, only his eyes and nose were visible from under the stack of blankets. “Stay?”

Klaus gently pulled Jesper’s hand off so that Jesper could go back to huddling entirely under the blankets, and then he sank down onto the floor next to the bed. “Of course.” 

Jesper’s voice was too scratchy for much conversation, so Klaus found one of the many books scattered around the house and settled down to read out loud to his friend for a little while. When Jesper’s stomach let out a loud growl, Klaus got up and went to the little kitchen. He frowned at the lack of food, and made a note to tell Jesper to take better care of himself. 

He went out to buy a few basic ingredients and then hurried back, and he made a hot soup. He ladled out a bowl for Jesper, and then took it into the bedroom. He held out the bowl, and Jesper looked up at him with big eyes. “Feed me?”

Klaus rolled his eyes, but he sat down on the edge of the bed and helped Jesper sit up so that he could spoon-feed him. When the bowl was empty he had Jesper drink a full glass of water, and then he went into the kitchen to get some soup for himself.

By the time Klaus returned to the bedroom to keep reading, Jesper’s eyes were closed and he was snoring softly, and Klaus had to smile as he felt something warm and good fill up his chest.  
,,,

It took three days for Jesper to feel back at full health, which was right about the time when he was able to feel complete and utter embarrassment for the way he’d acted while he was sick. Klaus had stayed to take care of him the entire time, and Jesper still had his manners despite his embarrassment, so he went outside to see Klaus chopping firewood for him. He cleared his throat. “Thanks for uh, everything. You didn’t have to.”

Klaus tossed the small logs he’d just chopped into the pile. “It was no hardship for me.” He walked over to Jesper, and Jesper gulped nervously for some reason. “I am glad to see that you are doing better, though I do not envy how much work you will need to catch up with.”

The smile on Klaus’ face made Jesper’s stomach twist around, and he suddenly thought of the teasing remarks that both Alva and the annoying captain had been making more and more often lately, and then Jesper’s eyes widened as he realized that he was pretty sure he knew what he was feeling, even if it was something he’d never felt for anyone before. “I like you,” he blurted out before he could stop himself, and he wanted to grab the words from the air and shove them back into his mouth. 

Klaus reached out to pat Jesper’s shoulder. “I like you as well, my friend.”

Even if Jesper hadn’t meant to make any confession, it did frustrate him that Klaus didn’t understand it anyways. “No, I meant-” Before he could clarify, a gust of wind shoved him forward right into Klaus’ chest, and Klaus’ arms automatically came up to wrap around him. Weird timing of nature aside, Jesper was suddenly determined to make sure Klaus understood him. It didn’t even occur to him that such a confession could ruin their friendship and make everything awkward. “I meant that I _like_ you.”

Klaus looked up at the sky for a few long seconds, and mouthed something that Jesper couldn’t quite make out. Then there was another small burst of wind, though this one was smaller and just blew some snow around both of their ankles. Then Klaus looked back down at Jesper. “Ah, I understand now.” And he bent his head down to give Jesper a kiss. Jesper felt his face immediately heat up, but he was not feverish again, he was just happy.


End file.
